View basket “Within” has been added to your basket. Matt's picks Keep It Light Steven Adams & The French Drops SKU: FIKA082LP Barcode: 5057805565932 16.00 £16.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Fika Recordings Released Date: 21st August 2020 Buying Format: 1LP Out of stock Back Order Add to your Wishlist Video Description Product Info 12” vinyl with download code and lyrics insert. “Making this record was a joy,” says Steven Adams of his latest album with his band the French Drops. He even let the positive mood around the making of it influence its title. “I love making records but sometimes time, money, or people – including me – fuck up my enjoyment of the process. So this time I kept saying to myself ‘keep it light’ whenever I was making decisions.” The buoyant and relaxed mood can be heard across the album in its gloriously skipping tones, as it traverses across indie, pop, alt-rock and more tender acoustic and folk-leaning moments. It’s a craft that Adams has been honing for years as the lead figure in outfits such as The Broken Family Band and Singing Adams, so much so that by now it oozes out of him with a seamless grace. The feelings of serenity and solace he experienced whilst writing the songs themselves carried over into the final product. “I did a big chunk of the writing on holiday in the South of France last year,” he says. “We were staying in this big, rambling house that had a kind of turret room that was cut off from everything, so I’d go up there in the mornings and sit on the floor and feel like a proper artist while everyone else was eating croissants.” Once described by The Guardian as “one of Britain’s smartest, most underrated songwriters”, Adams’ aim was clear with this record. “I wanted to make a super personal, light-hearted and upbeat record,” he says. “I wanted to do the whole write about what you know thing and keep it as light as possible.” The lightness of the album was a guiding principle but it wasn’t a rule set in stone, as Adams soon found out the deeper he plunged into himself. “We had a running joke about how we were making an album called Keep it Light that is full of songs about racists and panic attacks and existential angst,” he says. “But it does you good to get that stuff out. Writing songs and making records keeps me sane.” The album is one as full of joy and beauty as it is ink black humour and caustic revelation. On the gorgeous shuffle of “Oh Dear” – recalling the kind of stripped back beauty of Yo La Tengo at their finest – Adams sings: “and true love will not find you in the end.” A knowing nod and a wink to Daniel Johnston’s earnest refrain that indeed true love will find you in the end. It’s such moments that fill the album with equal parts weight and lightness, a smart touch delivered with a deft hand. Of the broad range of the album and its wide-spanning lyrical content Adams simply says: “the upbeat stuff is pretty upbeat and the darker stuff is pretty dark, but it’s all still with some humour.” Perhaps the song that best encapsulates this split between the light and the dark and the funny and the personal is “My Brother, the Racist” a self explanatory song that skips along with an infectious groove as Adams sings about, well, his racist brother. It unfurls in an intimate manner that recalls the kind of deeply personal allure of Sun Kill Moon’s Benji. “It’s an awkward thing to sing about, but it was the right thing to do,” he reflects. “I’ve written about British racism before, but never this close to home.” Recorded at Soup by Simon Trought and with band members Laurie Earle, Daniel Fordham, David Stewart and Michael Wood, this is the first time Adams has worked in such a harmonious and in sync way. “This is the first record I’ve made with the band all playing in one room, getting everything down at once,” he says. “We played live with all of us on the floor, and it came together really quickly. But we still gave ourselves time to experiment and do fun stuff all over it. This combination of allowing things to be light, not overstressing, the harmony of the group, and the seamless knack of Adams’ songwriting has resulted in a truly special record. “I’m usually sick of a record by the time it’s mixed and I don’t get much of a kick out of hearing my own stuff, but this one’s different,” he says. “I know I sound like a wanker saying this but this is the best record I’ve ever made.” Artist Steven Adams & The French Drops Genre Rock And Pop Label Fika Recordings Buying Options 1LP Format 1LP Condition New Country UK Track Listings A1) Soft Landings A2) Bring on the Naps A3) Canary A4) Gracechurch St A5) Oh Dear B1) Going to Everglades B2) Note to Self B3) My Brother, The Racist B4) Jonny B5) Mr Sunshine Share this On Facebook On Twitter Via Email More from Steven Adams & The French Drops and more from Rock And Pop View Product Quick View Steven Adams & The French Drops Virtue Signals Rock And Pop | Hudson Records | 1LP Released 4th May 2018 £17.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Steven Adams & The French Drops Virtue Signals £17.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Hudson Records SKU: HUD010LP Formats: 1LP Released Date: 4th May 2018 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Neil Young Re-ac-tor Rock And Pop | Warner Bros | 1LP Released 31st August 2018 £19.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Neil Young Re-ac-tor £19.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Warner Bros SKU: 0093624907909 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 31st August 2018 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Baba Ali Memory Device Rock And Pop | Memphis Industries | 1LP, Coloured Vinyl Released 27th August 2021 £0.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Baba Ali Memory Device £0.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Memphis Industries SKU: MI0697LP Formats: 1LP, Coloured Vinyl Released Date: 27th August 2021 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Japan Quiet Life (2021 Remaster) Rock And Pop | BMG | 180g, 1LP, Box Set, Coloured Vinyl, Gatefold Sleeve Released 5th March 2021 £22.00 - £50.00 Select options Japan Quiet Life (2021 Remaster) £22.00 - £50.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: BMG Formats: 180g, 1LP, Box Set, Coloured Vinyl, Gatefold Sleeve Released Date: 5th March 2021 Read More Select options View Product Quick View Steve Miller Band Selections From The Vault Rock And Pop | UMC/Virgin | 1LP, Coloured Vinyl Released 11th October 2019 £18.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Steve Miller Band Selections From The Vault £18.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: UMC/Virgin SKU: 0807289 Formats: 1LP, Coloured Vinyl Released Date: 11th October 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Little River Band Ultimate Hits Rock And Pop | UMC | 3LP Released 14th October 2022 £42.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Little River Band Ultimate Hits £42.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: UMC SKU: 5396746 Formats: 3LP Released Date: 14th October 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View John Mayer Where the Light is Rock And Pop | Music On Vinyl | 4LP Released 14th March 2012 £41.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders John Mayer Where the Light is £41.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Music On Vinyl SKU: MOVLP444 Formats: 4LP Released Date: 14th March 2012 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Gov't Mule Shout! – Limited Edition Rock And Pop | 180g, 4LP, Includes Download Code Released 29th June 2018 £31.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Gov't Mule Shout! – Limited Edition £31.00 Genre: Rock And Pop SKU: 819873017158 Formats: 180g, 4LP, Includes Download Code Released Date: 29th June 2018 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Mac DeMarco Salad Days Rock And Pop | Captured Tracks | 1LP, Includes Download Code Released 4th April 2014 £17.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Mac DeMarco Salad Days £17.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Captured Tracks SKU: CT193LP Formats: 1LP, Includes Download Code Released Date: 4th April 2014 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Los Lobos How Will The Wolf Survive? 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